World Aquaculture December 2018

WWW.WA S.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • DECEMBER 2018 55 enrolled at the school pay no tuition. They work on the farm and provide for their meals, which consists of rice flavored with palm oil and vegetables grown onsite. Bush meat is an appreciated compliment, when students are successful hunting. Aquaculture arrived in Gabson Town in the 1970s, when Norwegian missionaries constructed three small ponds (400-600 m 2 each). The missionaries departed at the start of the first Civil War and the ponds were abandoned for decades. To access and sample the long-neglected ponds, 40 students with machetes cleared a path and removed vegetation (Fig. 12). Trees, often with trunks >20 cm in diameter, were removed. Sampling of ponds revealed a fish assemblage and water quality similar to that observed at Ganta and Gbarnga. Instructional meetings were held and a suitable site for construction of a new pond (0.1 ha) was identified and surveyed. Although further aquaculture instruction and pond renovation are needed before fish production can be initiated, the major challenge is inaccessibility of the campus. Supplies, communication, and medical care are sporadically available. Faculty are paid infrequently and mail delivery accompanies visitors; we became the Liberian Post! Klay Hatchery: A Diamond Poised to Blossom The BNF’s main office is located in Monrovia, where manage- ment of inland and coastal fisheries, including aquaculture, are coor- dinated. To stimulate aquaculture development throughout Liberia, BNF operates and staffs three hatcheries located in Tasah (Bong County), Douyee (Grand Gedeh County) and Klay (Bomi County). As an illustration, the Klay Hatchery and Farmers Resource Center is located approximately 40 km north of Monrovia. Nile tilapia imported from the Ivory Coast in 1999 and locally accessed African catfish are produced in 20 fillable/drainable ponds of various sizes and geometry (Fig. 13). Pond construction was initiated in 1972 as a U.S. Peace Corps project. The original three ponds have been enlarged and supplemented with additional ponds over the years, through support from the European Union in 1999 and the United Nations in 2011. Water management is facilitated by a large reservoir pond that provides water to culture ponds as needed. Delivery is by gravity through buried PVC piping; water is passed through a rock pile to filter exotic fish before it enters a pond. The reservoir holds a population of tilapia that are fed but not routinely managed or harvested. All ponds are fertilized with manure and/ or fed with wheat sorts. Total production in 2016 was approximately 15,000 kg of tilapia and 5,000 kg of catfish. To support pond management and fish production, more than a half dozen buildings provide on-site storage, staging and instruction. One small building houses the electrical generator that services the hatchery as needed. A prawn hatchery was constructed with international assistance in 2012 but has never been used. Instruction is an important service provided by staff at the Klay hatchery. A classroom is used to host workshops on site selection, pond construction, pond and fish management and marketing. Participants commonly manage less than a half dozen small ponds (<400 m 2 each) and harvest a couple hundred fish that average 500 g each. Tropical conditions allow for a continuous growing season that yields two harvests annually. Tilapia are popular and sell for US$1.25 each, but value varies with location, particularly proximity to Monrovia. As with UMU campuses, the Klay Hatchery is largely self- sufficient. A variety of agricultural crops are grown: pigs, swans and rabbits are reared for food. Vegetative and animal manure from agricultural production is collected, fermented in an earthen pit and used as fertilizer when ready and needed. The Klay Hatchery illustrates the situation common for aquaculture in Liberia. Staff are dedicated and competent but resources are limited. Electricity must be generated on-site. After decades of use, ponds have filled with sediment and are increasingly difficult to manage and need renovation. Paychecks appear sporadically. Existing needs include a small boat, water pump (80- 100 L/m) and a 50-80 m seine. Resources that allow workshop instruction at the hatchery to become mobile would make extension activities more accessible. With modest investment, fish management and harvest could be enhanced, thereby increasing fish production, revenue generation, overall sustainability and impact. The Message: What was Accomplished and Learned Aquaculture assistance often initiates with an identified opportunity or need, followed by an investment of money and resources to increase production, involve an audience and grow an industry. Often this inspired and well-intended process inadequately assesses the needs, desires and capabilities of the local population. As an illustration, the biologically feasible and economically appealing LEFT AND CENTER, FIGURE 11. Ponds at UMU School of Theology are fished by local youth. Tilapia and other fish are retained and consumed as a supplemental source of animal protein. Photo: Joe Buttner. RIGHT, FIGURE 12. One of three small aquaculture ponds constructed and abandoned by Norwegian missionaries at Gbason Town is cleared, surveyed and sampled. Photo: Joe Buttner. ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 5 6 )